Washington Glass Association Dinner Meeting Update

I was recently invited to speak at the Washington Glass Association’s (WGA) monthly dinner meeting in Seattle. The meeting was well attended, and most guests were upbeat about business in their area. Though several officials from large companies commented that there are not many large curtainwall-type projects active in the market, public jobs and tenant improvement work were keeping them busy and quoting.

This was not the first time I have been invited to present at WGA events over the years. This is one of the stronger glass associations I have been involved with. It has great support from the industry and is well-run and organized. Over the years of attending these events, I’ve noticed that most of the stronger associations have two things in common:

• The organization’s leadership is supported by local glass companies, especially the larger firms, in partnership with their vendors; and
• Organizations have a full-time or part-time organizer. In WGA’s case, it has both.

Overall, WGA’s meeting was well run from beginning to end. Organization officials did advanced marketing, leading to a great crowd. I was impressed with the attendance. Many of the attending companies brought multiple people. Those who attended engaged in various educational meetings, which seemed to be the reason why most people participated.

As a speaker, I hosted a session on all-glass handrails and heavy-glass shower enclosure best practices. There were a lot of questions about codes, designs and installation issues. Most of the people I spoke with appreciated the information. Especially the younger people who were there.

Whether it’s glass association meetings, trade shows or informational webinars, the glass industry is thirsty for information and training. Industry professionals want to keep up with what’s new, best practices and the latest building codes. I highly recommend that companies and vendors be good corporate citizens and support their local associations and trade shows.

These events offer a lot more than just a night out. Each of us has a lot to give back to the industry, and it’s our responsibility to take the time and make the effort to keep our industry up to date and trained on best practices.